Tim Ballard: US child-trafficking opponent who inspired Sound of Freedom accused of assault

Tim Ballard used a tactic called "couple ruse" to fool sex traffickers and to "coerce" women into sexual acts, according to a new lawsuit

He achieved fame by going undercover to rescue children from sex trafficking. Now Tim Ballard is facing allegations of assault.

In a lawsuit filed on Monday, five women said they were coerced into sexual acts after joining Mr Ballard on his sting operations.

Mr Ballard, whose life story was the basis of the hit film Sound of Freedom, denies the allegations.

He resigned from the non-profit behind the rescue missions this summer.

Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), the organisation co-founded by Mr Ballard, was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit filed in Utah's third district court.

Through OUR, Mr Ballard travelled overseas to rescue women and children who were the victims of sex trafficking.

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According to the lawsuit, Mr Ballard used a tactic called the "couples ruse" to fool traffickers by pretending he and a female partner, who travelled with him, were a married couple.

The lawsuit said that initially Mr Ballard, a Mormon, kept to a strict set of rules while undercover, including "no kissing on the lips and no touching or exposing of private parts", but that over time things changed.

Mr Ballard began to use his religion and "spiritual manipulation to coerce [the women] into sexual contact", the lawsuit alleges. Many of the alleged victims were also Mormons, says the lawsuit.

Under the "couples ruse", according to the lawsuit, Mr Ballard "engaged in a ploy where he would tell the women that if they were offered alcohol, which is forbidden by the Mormon church, that she should take the drink and then open mouth, kiss him and spit the alcohol in his mouth, and then he would spit it out when the traffickers weren't looking".

Claims included in the lawsuit include an allegation that Mr Ballard pressured the women to share a bed and shower with him on sting operations, and coerced sex acts from them, purportedly "to maintain the appearance of a romantic relationship at all times" to avoid making sex traffickers suspicious of them.

The lawsuit also claims that OUR and its board members knew of Mr Ballard's behaviour but either ignored or silenced the alleged victims.

The non-profit said in a statement obtained by the Washington Post that it "categorically denies the allegations as they relate to OUR".

The BBC has contacted OUR and the Spear Fund, also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, and on which Mr Ballard serves as a senior adviser, for comment.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last month rebuked Mr Ballard, accusing him of exploiting his friendship with a Mormon leader, M Russell Ballard (no relation), for personal advantage.

Tim Ballard shot to national fame this year after the release of Sound of Freedom, a film based on his work.

He says the missions have saved "hundreds, maybe thousands, of children".